The Games of April 2012

April, April, April. In 2011 you showered the gaming community with riches such as Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat. But in 2012, the year’s fourth month just can’t compete with titles like that. However, there’s still a steady stream of new releases this month (OK, it’s actually more of a trickle) and there’s bound to be a few gold nuggets in the pan.

John ScalzoEditor-In-Chief
Even with the short release list (just 15 new games this month), there’s a lot in April that has me excited. Correction, there’s a lot in April that has me curious. Like Kinect Star Wars. The idea is brilliant, but will twirling an imaginary Lightsaber, stomping a Tattooine town in a Rancor rampage, and, shudder, dancing for Jabba work? I guess we’ll find out.

I’m also curious about Xenoblade Chronicles and The House of the Dead 4 as each has taken a rather roundabout way to America. Is Xenoblade the action RPG that everyone says it is (maybe)? Is The House of the Dead 4 the light gun holy grail (probably not, but I do love the franchise)? Whatever the answers to those questions are, as I said, I’m curious.

Finally, who’s not curious about The Walking Dead? Zombie game overload? THERE’S NO SUCH THING.

Nicole KlineSenior Editor
Since I just got my Vita, I’ll be spending most of April playing Touch My Katamari, my first game for it! I’m also really looking forward to PAX East, where the only thing I am dead set on playing is Borderlands 2. That’s the only thing I’m insistent about!

When it comes to actual April releases, for some reason, I’m slightly obsessed with Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir – it looks so scary and fun that I really want to try it. Other than that, I’ve got a bunch of games I just got on sale and for my birthday, so I’m hopefully going to play Prototype before Prototype 2 comes out!

Ryan LittlefieldPodcast Producer
April looks to be a fairly slow month for me. All of the games that I’m anticipating are interests of mine, but I have no real intention to actually play them in April. The Devil May Cry HD Collection is a necessary purchase, since I only played the first game, and I’m a HUGE sucker for all of the PS3’s HD collections thus far – I’ve got them all! Xenoblade Chronicles makes its long-awaited American debut, and this game holds the highest chance of being played, but we’ll see if I’ve finished off Skyward Sword by then. Lastly, Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention certainly has no absence of interest from me – Disgaea 3 with Trophies and all included DLC from the PS3 version, on Vita? Sold!

Andrew RainnieStaff Writer
By the Seven Gods, April looks like a scant month – thank the dragons Game of Thrones has returned! That said, I’ll be very interested to see what The Walking Dead game brings with it as well as trying to scoop up the rest of the Riddler Trophies in last year’s Batman: Arkham City. But first, I will probably begin an epic Journey, which was a game of March.

And being from the UK, I played Xenoblade Chronicles last year. I loved it.

Continue on to the next page for a complete look at the April release schedule.